The Nationals re-assigned catcher Carlos Maldonado to minor-league camp following today's game against the Cardinals in Jupiter, trimming their roster by one and ensuring Wilson Ramos and Jesus Flores will open the season as their only true catchers.

Maldonado, 33, had a strong camp, hitting .353 (6-for-17) with a double, a homer and four RBI. His only hope of heading north with the team, though, would have been either an injury or a trade. Despite some speculation Flores could be moved to another club in search of a catcher, the Nationals elected to keep him as Ramos' backup.

Maldonado will report to Class AAA Syracuse, where he will share catching duties with Jhonatan Solano.

The move officially leaves 33 players in big-league camp, but that includes five players expected to open the season on the disabled list: Michael Morse, Drew Storen, Chien-Ming Wang, Chris Marrero andRead more »

Looks like Durbin, Tracy and Stammen are gonna go. Matheus stays long enuf for Storen to get healthy. Then what? Who gets cut when Morse comes back? That's one that'll make the R&J braintrust earn their money. Can't release either Bernadina or Carroll without losing them. I think the real problem is the twelve-man bullpen. Leaves little or no flexibility on the bench. Specialization dictates at least five distinct positions in the BP: closer, set-up, 6th-7th inning guy, LOOGY, long man/mop up. Plus redundancies for the days following extra-innings/blow ups where several relief pitchers get burned up. The best thing they could do for the game would be to expand rosters to 26.

They option Mattheus to close for Syracuse when Storen returns. Stammen gets optioned. He'll be the starting ace of the Syracuse staff and the first one they call. Tracy has a left-handed bat, the corollary to Nady's right handed bat for the bench. Still think Brad Hawpe would make a better option behind LaRoche than Tracy. They might still option Lombardozzi when Morse returns as DeRosa has had a tremendous spring, but he is 37. If they send down Lombardozzi DeRosa could end up playing a lot … but does it matter? It sure looks like Davey will be playing him a lot anyway? The Nats still have a bit of flexibility with regards to the roster … and I think the FO planned it that way … guess we'll see how they use it.One thing you can bet on … they don't want to give any of their NL East division rivals a starting pitcher. They do seem to like trades with AL when it comes to players with value. Don't know if its intentional or not? Durbin does seem like the odd man out in all of this.

Finally, when Wang is ready its either trade or option Lannan. Management seems content to let Lannan pitch for now … as soon as he starts having problems (per usual) it will give them the excuse to option him. If he pitches well his value as a trade chip could go up. Either way they should theoretically get something back for him … that'll be tougher to do with Wang.Some combination of Detwiler, Wang, Gorzelanny, and Stammen should be plenty to cover both the fifth starter position, Strasburg's innings limit and any injuries to starters that might occur. Two lefties and two righties.

FWIW…My brother-in-law tells me last night over oysters and chowder while I'm up here on the Cape for Spring Break, "After the Sox, the Nats are my team. They're my National League team. I've never had a National League team before. I like'em. Every day I read up about'em. Can you get me a jersey?" Pretty cool, huh? A die-hard Sox fan wanting a Nat's jersey up here in Massachusetts. Not sure when or where he's going to wear it… But he knows the game and his son pitched college ball. He likes what how the team is being assembled. Now, who's jersey should I get him?…

NatGio is a rip. From Amanda's article:…[Gio] knock[ed] a single up the middle — his first hit, he estimated, since high school."(Carlos) Beltran told me, 'At least round the base. Don’t stop.' I was laughing, I was like, 'I ain’t getting off this bag.' It’s my first hit."Gonzalez was practically euphoric after getting the hit. Even when shortstop Ian Desmond hit into a double play one batter later, Gonzalez came up smiling, shaking his batting helmet triumphantly and high-fiving Porter on his way off the field.

Out of touch all day — I was just looking at the box score – I don't know which thing I am more excited about, gio's hit or Danny's 2 hits!!! I really wish I could have seen Gio hitting – oh, wait – nobody saw it today, did they?

Maldanadno gets no respect! Yet he could easily be a starter.Too old now he's following the Randy Knorr career path which may be one reason why he spent so much time with the big club in ST. Knorr is the bench coach this year. Knorr was his manager last year. Natch?

Durbin makes the team, Matheus doesn't. It's too easy. Interchangeable parts but Durbin would be lost and Matheus has an option.Its a little more complicated than that lasatcsc they have to put older veterans like Durbin, Tracy, and Nady on the 40-man roster as well. If they assign them to the minors they don't have to do that, at least not yet, have to assume injuries will occur during the course of the season and so that is when you would allocate a precious 40-man slot.This isn't the Riggleman "smart ball, small brain" show where you have all veterans with a sprinkling of prospects. This is Johnson who thoroughly enjoys acting as a finishing school for talented young prospects. You now have a roster starting to be built mostly upon young talent with a sprinkling of veterans. So, that leads to choices. Do you say, release infielder Carlos Rivero in order to free up a slot for a 33+ year old bench player? He is only 23 and still has a lot of potential even though he will have used up all of his options this year (he was a very young Latin American signing). And you saw what happened when they tried to sneak surgically repaired Cole Kimball through the waiver system to free up a slot? The Nats have interesting choices … my guess is they will generally steer toward young because of the differences in attitude and philosophy of a Johnson versus Riggleman and his coaches. It will be interesting to watch the roster moves this season and the upcoming draft and rapid signing period starting in June.

Starters – SS, GG, JZ, EJ, JLBullpen – HRod, BL, SB, TG, TC, RD, & CDInfield – ALR,DE, ID, RZOutfield – MDR, JW, XNBench – SL, JF, RB, BC CTThey option Mattheus & Stammen only because they have options.Morse, Storen, Ankiel all on the 15 day Dl and when they come up you move Tracy, Carrol and I guess Durbin (although I am pretty sure we will lose him at that point).When Wang returns you option Lannan and this is the glass half full version so no one has been injured in this first month.Harper joins us in late April, early May and then you either release Ankiel/Bernadina if they have not produced or you send Lombardozzi down and use one of his options. This gm thing is not that hard afterall.Go Nats!!

Did not explain but when Morse returns Nady goes to the bench and DeRosa starts to platoon. When Harper comes up, he starts and now DeRosa is pretty much an infielder for the rest of the season. This is why you can send Lombardozzi down.

Did not explain but when Morse returns Nady goes to the bench and DeRosa starts to platoon. When Harper comes up, he starts and now DeRosa is pretty much an infielder for the rest of the season. This is why you can send Lombardozzi down.The rationale for opting Lombardozzi is to get him more playing time, more at bats and more experience at third base, shortstop and the outfield. I suspect Johnson will find ways to get DeRosa in the lineup with or without any changes to the outfield/infield. They may want DeRosa to mentor Lombardozzi, Espinosa, and Desmond … and perhaps eventually, Rendon.Johnson and Rizzo won't bring up Harper unless he is certain Harper would get regular playing time and at bats. Not necessarily as a starter this season as he is after all only 19 until October. If they sign on Nady that becomes more unlikely if Morse and Werth remain healthy because you would have an outfield of Ankiel, Morse, Werth, Carroll (who is still young), Bernadina (who is also still young), and DeRosa. But if Harper starts tearing up the International League? Then, make the moves necessary to accommodate him. Harper will be given every opportunity to prosper in Syracuse by the FO. The Syracuse lineup will feature some mashers. If Lombo gets optioned they might have a formidable offense this year … albeit with weak starting pitching … The Rizzo, the FO, Johnson, and player development are letting the players decide who the opportunities go to … instead of forcing things as happened in the past. It can go either way and in either case the Nats should be competitive.

Where are the cliches when you need them? Jim Tracy (Rockies manager) out there with nasty stuff, luckily Manny Acta located them. I liked Tulo (absolutely great player) since he took Clip to the All-Star Game, that was classy. But not a lot of class shown by anyone in this "feud." An inside look, and I prefer not to look inside. Just play the game, fellas.

Jim Tracy is the reason Tom Gorzelanny went from a top left-handed prospect like Gio or Purke to two years with a burned out close-to-tommy-johns arm. No class? When Tracy was managing the Pirates he pushed Gorzelanny beyond the 200 innings limit and the kid had never pitched close to 100 before in the minors … it was his rookie year in the majors. I have no respect for Tracy a Riggleman crony.

SJM308 and AD/HD- Thanks for those analysis's (is that a word?).Good stuff.I'm no good at attempting to GM As for the 2 catchers, wow Flores and Ramos are a very solid duo. Hopefully Flores will be able to get enough ABs to contribute, because he's been looking very much like he did a couple years ago.

I didn't know that about Tracy and Gorzelanny, but I know Eric Karabell of Baseball Today regards Tracy as the worst manager in MLB. He had a lot to say (negative) when Tracy got renewed, basically for life, with the Rox.

MLB Fantasy puts out a podcast about once a week, and they noted the following:The NL is better than the AL in EVERY offensive category if you take out the DH/pitcher stats. This includes RBI, hitting, HR, and basestealing, etc., for the last 10 years.

My eyes glazed over at the initials. Not that I couldn't figure them out if I applied myself, but I'd need more coffee to get that ambitious at this hour (plus, I don't play armchair GM, so I don't tend to read comments in that vein – nothing personal, it's just not my thing).I must have missed the Rockies controversy.(Confidential to Cwj, in re. your question,I think you want "analyses" there.)

However the final roster shakes out, the Nats will have a significantly better starting rotation, an even stronger bull pen than last year, and a much stronger bench. The bench will help the offense, and those used for platoon purposes will produce more than last year's reserves.If the starters stay healthy, they will produce more offense than they did last year. Morse is important, of course, and his recovery is key. ALR and RZ seem to be healthy, and Ankiel is close. Werth has shown signs of his old power stroke. They don't have to score many more than they did last year to win, with that pitching staff.The defense is strong, with the exception of Desi at short. ALR and Zim are maybe the best combination of corner defenders in baseball, and ALR will make the other infielders better, he's that good. Desi's throwing errors should go down throwing to him. Danny gives them 3 Gold Glove quality IFs. Lombo is a solid defensive player (if he sticks – and can be brought up in case of injury, if he does not) and is a MiL Gold Glover, himself. Nady and Carroll (if he sticks) are better defenders than Nix, Gomes, and Hairston. Shark is better defensively in LF than in CF. Ankiel and Werth are solid. With those 2, and either Shark or Carrol in LF, they have plus arms at all OF positions, and plenty of all-around speed.DeRosa is adequate on D, but not great, wherever he plays, and Tracy (again, if he sticks) is a liability on D, but if he is kept it will be because he supplies power off the bench – this year's version of Matt Stairs, only Tracy can still hit. Ramos and Flores are solid behind the plate, where the loss of Pudge represents the only defensive drop-off for the position players, but not by much.This is a good, solid, all-around team, with a nice mix of youth and experience. The organizational depth is another plus. They will win a lot of close games, and if Harper develops as rapidly as some believe, the offense could get a jolt.I like this bunch, and their field mgr, their GM, and their coaching and scouting staffs. Guess that makes me a fan.Laddie_Blah_Blah

NatsLady said… Gonat—Excuse me, but Pujols and Fielder were in the NL over the last 10 years, and Dunn got his HR's in the NL. April 02, 2012 8:36 AM ________________________Of course. Its a new day in offensive supremacy in the Majors. The AL will now be the powerhouse in HRs. I would agree looking back the NL had that crown.

indigo nat, how was Tracy reckless with Gorzelanny? In 2004 TG threw 148 innings in A ball. In 2005 he threw 135 innings between AA and MLB. In 2006 he threw 161 innings between AAA and MLB. And in 2007 as a 25 year old under Tracy, TG threw 201 innings. *****"When Tracy was managing the Pirates he pushed Gorzelanny beyond the 200 innings limit and the kid had never pitched close to 100 before in the minors … "

natsfan1a said… Just noticed a nice Comak story on Espinosa's hitting. April 02, 2012 8:50 AM ________________________________Just my thought, there was the Saturday writings about Espi and the batter's eye. There was some criticism of the beat writer's missing the overall record on Espinosa and just talking about Spring Training and forgetting about Espi's high K rate in 2011 and lag on his LH stats vs his RH stats.If you scan Amanda's blog, she doesn't get much comments if at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Amanda read the feedback here and that new article was to further the record and thoughts of Espi and discuss the 2011 record.You know the way for Espi to put all the criticism to rest? Rake as a LH batter.

Laddie…. I agree with almost everything in your post.My only issue is Lombardozzi. He cannot be expected to learn the utility role at the ML level. His play at short, 3rd and left field were well below average defense. The only position he showed either range and/or arm strength was his natural position of 2nd base.If they really want him to play a utility role, he needs to do it at Syracuse.

Not sure if others are experiencing this, but for the last 4 days my posts get deleted the next time I refresh / reload the page. I know they make it there, I can see them. And Gonat obviously read my most recent.Anyway, the notion that Jim Tracy hurt Gorzelanny by throwing him 200 innings when Gorzo had "never pitched close to 100 before in the minors" is totally fabricated.Gorzelanny pitched 148 innings in 2004, 135 innings in 2005 and 161 innings in 2006.Why post stuff as fact when it ain't true and you're too lazy to spend 2 minutes looking it up?*****AD/HD – Indigo said… Jim Tracy is the reason Tom Gorzelanny went from a top left-handed prospect like Gio or Purke to two years with a burned out close-to-tommy-johns arm. No class? When Tracy was managing the Pirates he pushed Gorzelanny beyond the 200 innings limit and the kid had never pitched close to 100 before in the minors

NatsJack,For about the first time ever, I might disagree with you. Syracuse is the place for him to learn how to play other positions. But his bat has nothing to learn from Syracuse. Johnson is thinking of the 300 major league at bats, not the glove work.The Nats are built for 2013-16, and the Lombardozzi move is defensible in this context. They are not built for 2012. They're good enough, with a bit of luck, to get into the playoffs. But next year, they'll be fearsome, even if their #5 starter isn't as good as this year's version.

Joe S….. I agree that his bat has shown quality during ST but not enough to warrant 300 AB's at positions other than 2b. This comes from observing him in over 20 ST games this season at those other positions where his discomfort was visible.

NatsJack in Florida said… Joe S….. I agree that his bat has shown quality during ST but not enough to warrant 300 AB's at positions other than 2b. This comes from observing him in over 20 ST games this season at those other positions where his discomfort was visible. April 02, 2012 9:45 AM _______________________________I was not impressed with him at 3rd and didn't get to see him in LF.With the bat, still not enough to determine how Lombo will play and adjust to MLB pitching. His 9th inning at-bat yesterday was a fail in a high leverage situation. He couldn't get a bunt down and K'd. Davey won't soon forget that which is why he likes his veterans with track records.

NatsJack,I think you are correct I really would not feel comfortable with Lombardozzi playing SS. I would think with Rendon in the wings Lombo's best chance to make and stay with this team is as a utility guy. What Lomb has going for him is his OBP which is much better the other table setters. However, asking him to learn new positions and become a lead-off hitter is a lot to ask of a rookie. I really wish Espinosa would stop swinging for the fences. Every plate appearance one swing is always for a HR. Danny has good speed if he tried to make contact a little more his K's would drop and the infield would play in more. Unless he makes more contact I would not bat him second. It's not a sign of weakness to choke up on the bat with 2 strikes.

natsfan1a said… Okay, thanks, Gonat and NatsLady. Thought maybe I needed more coffee. April 02, 2012 10:01 AM ___________________________It most likely was on there and was removed by the software as SPAM. It has happened before to others especially if you use vaious HTML in your post.I hope Sunderland can re-post.

Not sure if others are experiencing this, but for the last 4 days my posts get deleted the next time I refresh / reload the page. I know they make it there, I can see them. And Gonat obviously read my most recent.Anyway, the notion that Jim Tracy hurt Gorzelanny by throwing him 200 innings when Gorzo had "never pitched close to 100 before in the minors" is totally fabricated.Gorzelanny pitched 148 innings in 2004, 135 innings in 2005 and 161 innings in 2006.Why post stuff as fact when it ain't true and you're too lazy to spend 2 minutes looking it up?*****AD/HD – Indigo said… Jim Tracy is the reason Tom Gorzelanny went from a top left-handed prospect like Gio or Purke to two years with a burned out close-to-tommy-johns arm. No class? When Tracy was managing the Pirates he pushed Gorzelanny beyond the 200 innings limit and the kid had never pitched close to 100 before in the minors

"The only position he showed either range and/or arm strength was his natural position of 2nd base."NatsJack,This is thing I've been wondering about with all this Lombo/utility player talk. Most of the guys who've done this (Zobrist for instance) have played SS almost exclusively in the minors. Their skills then easily translate to any position because of their arm strength and athleticism. Lombo might be able handle LF with some reps, but that's about it other then 2B.

Maybe if I use a Different Name This Post Will Not Disappear said… Not sure if others are experiencing this, but for the last 4 days my posts get deleted the next time I refresh / reload the page. I know they make it there, I can see them. And Gonat obviously read my most recent.Anyway, the notion that Jim Tracy hurt Gorzelanny by throwing him 200 innings when Gorzo had "never pitched close to 100 before in the minors" is totally fabricated.Gorzelanny pitched 148 innings in 2004, 135 innings in 2005 and 161 innings in 2006.Why post stuff as fact when it ain't true and you're too lazy to spend 2 minutes looking it up?***** April 02, 2012 10:11 AM _____________________________Sunderland – Good stuff. This time I want to copy and paste.

Thanks, Gonat and Sunderland. Wasn't aware of the disappearing on refresh phenomenon. Wonder whether it might occur only when one is using an account to login and post (as opposed to using the name/URL or Anonymous function). Yesterday I posted a link to an outside blog item I'd found that mentioned the recent "503" issues with blogger. Had something to do with censorship of blogs in certain countries. Will see whether I can dig it up.

Here's the blog item I'd turned up via online search the other day. According to that item, the service issues started when Google Blogger changed top level domain names (country codes) for censorship purposes.

Oooh, I posted/pasted a longish "Why 503 errors happen" post the other day, during said discussion when Mark said he's looking into it, with some suggestions for server-side solutions, and it disappeared. I thought someone pulled it off as too boring.

Then again (after re-reading the item), it could have been due to other recent changes to Blogger such as Search Preferences for SEO optimization. At any rate, it does sound like a Blogger issue, as Mark had suspected.

OK folks, my sincere apologies for the disappearing comments and 503 Errors. It appears that many comments are suddenly being thrown into the spam folder (and thus disappearing from public view). I went into the folder and accepted all those comments and labeled them as "Not Spam," so hopefully Google will recognize them now.I'm planning to talk to some of my tech people at CSN today about all these problems. Hopefully they can help solve them. Thanks to everyone for your patience and understanding.

Not sure if others are experiencing this, but for the last 4 days my posts get deleted the next time I refresh / reload the page.Why in the name of all things good and holy does this never happen when JayB posts here?

Thanks, Mark. In other news, maybe "the kid" will get called up to Nats Park, this season? Nah, not that Harper guy, this Brian Z kid we've been reading about. Failing that, maybe a picture update? kaithxbai.

#4,Lombo probably can learn to play 3B. His throws across the diamond will probably skip once but the kid is quick and has a good glove. I have not seen him play SS, the arm strength is probably not there and the range in both directions is a pretty tough thing to pick up at the major league level. When Rendon comes up which should be next year he will be given a position because his bat is that good. Having spoken to people who saw him play at Rice this kid is the real deal. Unless he becomes injury prone he may be the best hitter for .avg in the organization and he most certainly will be better leading off than any player the Nats currently have. His total college stats at Rice were: 187 GP, 682 AB, Avg. 3712B 46HR 52RBI 194SLG% 679BB 176SO 78OBP% .505The kid can flat out hit and he know the strike zone. These numbers probably would have been higher if he had not been banged up in his junior year. It looks like the best 27 or 28 are going north can we still drink to that.